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Media Release

Shuffling of pack on cards in ICC ODI Team & Player Rankings

With so many points available this month we could see plenty of movement in the ICC ODI Team and Player Rankings.

Hasan Ali to start as the No.1 ranked bowler; opportunity for Warner to return to the top of batting table; Shakib eyes best all-rounder’s slot

ODI predictor function available here; player rankings to be updated on 29 January, following the conclusion of Australia versus England ODI series

Important points in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings will be up for grabs, with the seven sides chasing number-one ranked South Africa and second-ranked India featuring in 23 ODIs this month.

A packed month of 50-over cricket will commence in Wellington on Saturday, 6 January, when fifth-ranked New Zealand and sixth-ranked ICC Champions Trophy winner Pakistan will square-off in the first of five ODIs. The series will culminate in Wellington on Friday, 19 January and both the sides will aim to rise up the order.

New Zealand (112 points) leads Pakistan (99 points) by 13 points and can open the gap to as wide as 19 points if they win all five matches. However, if the series result is reversed, then Pakistan will narrow the gap with New Zealand to just two points.

In the backyard of the ICC headquarters in Dubai at the ICC Academy, Ireland, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will play a tri-series from 11 January. Curtains will fall on the series on 23 January.

World champion and third-ranked Australia will host fourth-ranked England also in a five-match series, which will start in Melbourne on Sunday, 14 January and conclude in Perth on 28 January. Both the sides are on equal points at 114, but Australia is ranked above England when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.

This means the side that wins the series will break clear of their opponent. If Australia wins all five matches of the series, then they will rise to 119 points and England will drop to 110 points. In contrast, if England sweeps the series, then they will move to 118 points and Australia will slip to 110 points.

Mirpur will be the stage of the tri-series involving hosts Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe with the series starting on Monday, 15 January, at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

In this series, Bangladesh will have a chance to finish as high as 95 points, Sri Lanka 87 points and Zimbabwe 61 points, while Bangladesh can finish as low as 84 points, Sri Lanka 81 points and Zimbabwe 51 points (which would leave them behind Afghanistan by a fraction of a point).

The series will be incredibly important to Zimbabwe, which will be bidding to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on home turf in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in March. The finalists from the Zimbabwe event will join the eight top-ranked sides in the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over tournament and, in addition to the host, some of the strong contenders to assemble in Bulawayo and Harare include ICC Intercontinental Cup champion Afghanistan, Ireland, ICC World Cricket League Championship holder Netherlands, Scotland and Windies.

In the Dhaka series, Zimbabwe will not only try to provide maximum exposure to its players but will also pit themselves against more experienced and skilled opponents, which, in turn, will help them prepare for the challenging ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings, unlike the Test team rankings, are updated after each match. To find out how the teams can progress this month, please use the ICC ODI predictor function which is available here.

David Warner has the chance to go top of the batting rankings

Meanwhile, in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, Australia’s third-ranked David Warner will have an opportunity to move to the top of the table as number-one ranked Virat Kohli and second-ranked AB de Villiers do not wear coloured clothing until 1 February.

Warner is 11 points behind Kohli, and trails de Villiers by seven points. A few very strong performances against England will potentially help him reclaim the coveted position, he first achieved 12 months ago before de Villiers replaced him in March. Kohli went top of the table following the group stage matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Babar Azam (fourth), Kane Williamson (10th), Ross Taylor (11th) and Martin Guptill (15th) are the high-ranking batsmen from Pakistan and New Zealand to feature inside the top-20 and looking to make an upward movement.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Pakistan’s Hasan Ali will begin as the number-one ranked bowler and will aim to widen the gap with second-ranked Imran Tahir of South Africa, who is likely to feature in the series against India in February. The two bowlers are separated by 16 points.

Hasan Ali has been in fine form for Pakistan

Hasan Ali, the Player of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, had started 2017 in 75th position and climbed to number-one following a successful series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates. He is the only Pakistan bowler to feature inside the top-20, with the next highest-ranked bowler being Mohammad Amir in 26th position.

Trent Boult is New Zealand’s highest-ranked bowler in fourth position and has India’s Jasprit Bumrah firmly within his sights. The Black Caps fast bowler trails the Indian by six points and a few strong performances will potentially help him break into the top-three.

New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and fast bowler Matt Henry are the other two bowlers to feature inside the top-20, in 10th and 17th positions respectively. Only 37 points separate the two teammates.

In the all-rounders’ category, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez is ranked number-one and leads Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan by six points. The Bangladesh left-arm spinner has a chance to move to the top as his Asian rival will be featuring in the series against New Zealand only as a batsman. New Zealand’s highest-ranked all-rounder is Mitchell Santner in ninth spot.

The player rankings will now be updated on 29 January, following the conclusion of Australia versus England ODI series.